Local community colleges are seeing more of their students transfer to four-year public universities — something that speaks well of the schools’ academic performance.

As Cañada College in Redwood City, College of San Mateo and Skyline College in San Bruno bade new graduates goodbye Friday, the schools have seen an increase in the number of transfers going to the University of California and California State University systems in recent years.

“Maybe there is a slight uptick,” said Barbara Christensen, spokeswoman for the San Mateo County Community College District, although she stopped short of calling it a trend.

After steady declines since at least the 1989-90 academic year, the number of transfers districtwide increased in 2005-06 and 2006-07, according to data from the California Postsecondary Education Commission.

The 2007-08 year is expected to continue that upward movement.

“I’m hearing from the transfer offices that we’re going to be above” the previous year’s tally, Christensen said.

That’s a good sign because a district’s or school’s academic success rate is partly based on how many of its students move on to four-year colleges or universities.

That rate also takes into account the number of students earning associate’s degrees and certificates of completion.

“We’re consistently tops in the state,” Christensen said.

The district has a 76 percent rate, compared to the statewide average of about 60 percent, she said.

Cañada ranks third, CSM fourth and Skyline 25th among more than 100 community colleges in California, she added.

Skyline counselor Joyce Lee offered some possible reasons for a bump in transfers at her school.

“Skyline College has been working to improve our relationships with our feeder high schools and the community,” Lee said.

“More students are informed about the opportunities available to them through our college.”

Skyline has also worked to improve its relationship with the UC and CSU systems as well as independent colleges, she said.

“Many of the local universities send representatives to our campus to meet with students, so students have greater exposure to transfer options. We also have strong articulation of courses with numerous universities, so that students can more easily meet transfer requirements.”

About 80 percent of transfers districtwide go to a CSU school, while the rest head to a UC campus, according to Christensen.

But at Cañada, an increasing number of transfers are going to a UC school.

In the last school year, Cañada sent 23 students to the UC system — up from the 15 in 2004-05 and 19 in 2005-06, said college spokesman Robert Hood.

For 2007-08, “we had 14 students sign transfer agreements with UC schools,” he added.

“This year, that number more than doubled to 30 students.”

Cañada President Tom Mohr attributed the increased number of UC transfers to the close counseling given to students.

The transfer office “has provided a lot of support for them to get ready,” Mohr said.

New campus clubs and other groups have also helped encourage students to pursue their education at a UC school or other four-year institutions, he said.

Moving on
The number of students who transferred from local community colleges to the University of California or California State University systems has increased after a sharp trend downward a few years ago.